Building Loyalty From the Ground Up
by David Rosen | Senior Vice President
I had the pleasure to fly Virgin America (VX) last week on one of the carrier’s first scheduled flights. As someone who is more than a little obsessed with frequent flyer programs, it was an interesting experience to fly an airline that is essentially starting from scratch: no elite members, no tangible membership benefits – really not much of a program at all.
Prior to take-off, Virgin America soft launched its frequent flyer program, “eleVAte” on its website. As a fan of great user interface, the sign-up process is fabulous – the virgin branding, the palate, the flow – all top notch, intuitive and a model for others to emulate.
The program itself is clearly still in design – other than the fact that accrual will be based on dollars paid rather than miles flown, not much else is known. One noticeable absence is the connection back to the greater Virgin Group – not surprising given the multi-year battle that Virgin America waged in getting the approval to move forward given the industry skepticism of their true ownership structure.
At the airport, the visual branding was equally impressive.
But it was at the gate where the lack of a frequent flyer experience really set in. As a regular traveler, you don’t really think about how dominant the airlines’ programs are to the flying experience until it’s missing. Even egalitarian Southwest engages each and every flyer with their Rapid Rewards Credit Card in every terminal they occupy. Among the old hub/spoke carriers, virtually every interaction is based on Frequent Flyer hierarchy: on which terminals you check in, through which security line you pass, the likelihood of squeezing into a standby seat, the order in which you board, the zone of the plane you sit, the number of inches between you and the seat in front of you, the speed with which your bags are deposited on the belt.
At Virgin America, there was none of that. No mention of priority boarding, no “take-ones” to enroll in the program at the gate, no free beach towels for applying for the Virgin America Credit Card. Oddly fair, genuinely egalitarian.
But, with more flights come more miles flown, more dollars spent and more of an expectation for both finishing up this unfinished project and making the program a deeper part of the VX experience.
Next week… CRM at
on Earth.
